从个体行为阐释金融危机的根源——《动物精神》启示录

Exploring the Foundation Stone of Financial Crisis from Individual Behaviors: the Lessons and Apocalypse from Animal Spirits

现代经济学始终是在理性化、数学化的逻辑思维框架下展开的。与此不同的是,美国学者阿克洛夫和希勒2009年出版的《动物精神》(Animal Spirits)一书则是从个体诸多非理性行为的视角阐释2008年金融危机根源的。这具有三方面的启示意义:一是要深入细致地挖掘凯恩斯曾提出的"动物精神"一词的学术内涵及其被遮蔽的原因;二是通过金融危机充分理解动物精神理论的新发展;三是应全面理解国外有关非理性经济学的最新前沿,尤其是其中新兴的行为经济学值得中国理论经济学界关注。

Although modem economics, which has it basis on the theory of ＂Rational Person＂, has been prevalence for years, it failed to predict the big financial crisis in 2008. Some economists, therefore, start to adopt behavioral economics to rethink the root of the crisis from the perspective of individual＇s irrational behaviors. One of the works in this regards is Animal Spirits by Nobel price winner George Akerlof and the famous economist Shiller. Akerlof and Shiller believe that blindness, greed, fear and crowd mentality of individuals are important motives of micro economy. This paper, first of all, reviews literatures on animal sprits, based on which, analyzes the relationship between animal spirits and financial crisis with the assist of Animal Spirits.